Saturday, June 28, 2008

Maybe Alone On My Bike-Willaim Stafford


I listen, and the mountain lakes
hear snowflakes come on those winter wings
only the owls are awake to see,
their radar gaze and furred ears
alert. In that stillness a meaning shakes;

And I have thought (maybe alone
on my bike, quaintly on a cold
evening pedaling home), Think!--
the splendor of our life, its current unknown
as those mountains, the scene no one sees.

O citizens of our great amnesty:
we might have died. We live. Marvels
coast by, great veers and swoops of air
so bright the lamps waver in tears,
and I hear in the chain a chuckle I like to hear.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Pacelines are the new Carpools

Imagine how great it would be if this was the scene on the freeway commute to work. Bike commuting sure would be a lot faster if there was always a good wheel to follow! I came across an interesting article from velonews.com. It discusses the interplay between cycling for purely utilitarian purposes and for training purposes. As a racer and commuter this is an important topic for me. I keep track of my training by time and heart rate, and have consistently found that a significant portion of my training time (sometimes as much as 25%) comes from commuthing to work, going to grocery store, or just meeting friends for dinner and drinks by bike. These aren't "throw away" miles. Every little bit counts, so let your time on the bike do double duty.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Bike Lanes Please













Butler County in Ohio is planning a lot of road work in the coming year. Very few of the project descriptions outline any plans for bike lanes. It would be awesome if they could be persuaded to add some. I think the best way to make that happen is for those in charge to hear from some people who would enjoy bike lanes. So if you live in the area, go ahead and email info@bceo.org with a quick description of why you would appreciate bike lanes in the community.

For those who live elswhere, if you'd like for me to post the necessary contact info for road construction projects in your area either email me at legpowered@gmail.com or post it on the comments section. The more they hear from us, the more likely it is they'll listen. Thanks!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Beautiful Solution










There are three major issues facing us in this country that can be simultaneously improved by the bicycle and its use. Gas prices are at an all time high, Americans are facing a serious epidemic of obesity, and air pollution is leading to global climate change and mucking up our environment.

The leg powered solution? Ride your bike! The energy is renewable and cheap, the health benefits are dramatic and plentiful, and the impact on the environment could be huge. I am hoping to increase bicycle use by supporting those who have already fallen in love with the beautiful machine and convincing those who haven’t to give it a try. Can such a simple machinge be expected to bring about such monumental changes. I believe it can. I would love your help in making this a reality. If you have an idea for a post, or want to alert me to something going on in the quest to change our car culture into a bike culture, please email me at legpowered@gmail.com

Revolution #1

Pick one common trip in your daily life and compare car travel time to bike travel time. Pick a destination that is relatively close, but that you typically drive to. The library, coffee shop, grocery store…any place will work. Time how long it takes to drive there on your next visit (or better yet, mapquest it). Now pick out a safe and comfortable route to ride there. Go to mapmyride.com or a similar mapping site and see how far your ride would be. If you’re an experienced rider, calculate your trip time with a reasonable average speed for you. If you don’t know how fast you ride, anywhere from 10-15mph would be a good conservative guess. So how much time do you actually save by driving? I bet you’ll be surprised by how little it really is. So ride next time! Be sure to tell your friends how easy it was. I’ll do my local coffee shop as an example. In my car, it’s a 2.27mile trip that takes me 6 minutes. On my bike, I take a 2.65mile route that takes me about 17 minutes. There you have it; I save a measly 11 minutes by driving my car.